Minnesota-Minneapolis and St. Paul

Venue Ideas

Hello,

I am having trouble finding a decent venue that will fit my needs.  I have about $600 to spend on the site and it needs to include tabiles and chairs.  I want to have a BBQ theme for the food so I am thinking I will most likely need to have an outside caterer.  I have looked into several places but they are either more than double my price range or have some pretty strict restrictions on alcohol.  I am open to the location.  I am in Shakopee but dont mind anything in the city or sububrs.  Are there any ideas you can share?

TIA!
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Re: Venue Ideas

  • edited December 2011
    Look for parks.  Table & chair rentals aren't too expensive.  Baker's Ribs is one of the options I have for a caterer.  It's $7.99/person I think.
  • edited December 2011
    Check out the Three Rivers Park District.  There are lots of outdoor venues, that should fit your needs.  = )

    http://www.threeriversparks.org/group-gathering-places/outdoor-facilities.aspx
  • edited December 2011

    I have looked at Three rivers Parks District and other parks.  They are the ones that have the alcohol restrictions.  For the most part they only allow Beer (which I personally don't drink) in cans and some require that you purchase 3-2 beer which my FI absolutely will not have. 

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  • edited December 2011
    Hmmm, yeah then I don't know! 

    I also don't drink beer or wine & that's all we're having at our reception.  So I just decided I won't be drinking on my wedding night.  Not the end of the world, in my eyes.  And we love our venue so much, it was worth giving that up!

    Good luck in your search!
  • graysquirrelgraysquirrel member
    5 Love Its Combo Breaker First Comment
    edited December 2011
    This isn't all that close to your area, but Long Lake Park in the Mounds View/New Brighton area has a number of pavilions to choose from I don't know pricing at all, but you could check there. 
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  • edited December 2011
    The ones in Chan allow kegs.  Not sure if it specifies alcohol content.
  • maybe984maybe984 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_minnesota-minneapolis-st-paul_venue-ideas-3?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:81Discussion:db642dd6-ce5b-4100-831b-cd088c0777e9Post:9153ea90-0366-4378-8021-d75c4e6c7c97">Re: Venue Ideas</a>:
    [QUOTE]I have looked at Three rivers Parks District and other parks.  They are the ones that have the alcohol restrictions.  For the most part they only allow Beer (which I personally don't drink) in cans and some require that you purchase 3-2 beer which my FI absolutely will not have. 
    Posted by AbeandCarrie[/QUOTE]

    I hate to break it to you, but if your budget is that small, you're going to need to compromise on some other aspects of your wedding. Fact is, in the Twin Cities, $1000 is usually the bare minimum a venue will cost if they allow open catering... and even those have alcohol restrictions 9 times out of 10. If a venue is allowing you to bring in your own caterer and your own drink service or your own liquor... the only source of revenue they have is your rental fee... and a few hundred dollars per event will barely cover their cost of maintaining the space. Now, you may get lucky and find some steal of a deal that allows everything you want, but it's a tad bit unlikely.

    I don't mean to be a total Debbie Downer, but it's worth warning you now that you're going to have to make concessions. Your budget is doable, but you need to accept that you may not get everything you want.

    Here, as I see it, are your options:

    - As pps have said, parks and community centers. They almost always give you the choice of caterer, but often have restrictions against hard liquor and sometimes even restrict it further to the canned 3/2 beer you detest.

    - Church halls. These are almost always super affordable, especially if you're getting married at the attached church, and they usually don't give a flip where your food comes from... but depending on the particular denomination of the church, you could see even tighter restrictions on alcohol and even the nature of the festivities (some won't allow dancing, etc...)

    -  All-inclusive sites that include catering and other services. I'm sure you could find somewhere that will be willing to approximate your BBQ wishes. A lot of these venues, since they're making money off the food and drinks, will waive the rental fee entirely and end up being pretty affordable overall. You just have a little less freedom of choice.
  • edited December 2011
    I agree you may have to compromise, or your FI will have to sneak in a flask or his own beer or something.

    Not that I am advocating doing that. Oh wait, yep, I am.
  • edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_minnesota-minneapolis-st-paul_venue-ideas-3?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:81Discussion:db642dd6-ce5b-4100-831b-cd088c0777e9Post:5b4dfa87-453f-4169-bb8a-e6a35d295bdf">Re: Venue Ideas</a>:
    [QUOTE]I agree you may have to compromise, or <strong>your FI will have to sneak in a flask or his own beer or something. Not that I am advocating doing that. Oh wait, yep, I am.
    </strong>Posted by KateJ10[/QUOTE]

    Awesome!  = )
  • MrsBassPlayaMrsBassPlaya member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_minnesota-minneapolis-st-paul_venue-ideas-3?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:81Discussion:db642dd6-ce5b-4100-831b-cd088c0777e9Post:5b4dfa87-453f-4169-bb8a-e6a35d295bdf">Re: Venue Ideas</a>:
    [QUOTE]I agree you may have to compromise, or your FI will have to sneak in a flask or his own beer or something. Not that I am advocating doing that. Oh wait, yep, I am.
    Posted by KateJ10[/QUOTE]

    Haha.  I've been to so many weddings with cash bars or "no alcohol" restrictions in which FI has made doubly sure the flask was filled and in my purse.

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  • edited December 2011
    For that budget check out pavilions in your or nearby County or City Parks. 
    I found that most parks restrict to beer and wine only. Just be sure to look over the details, as they really are a little different from one to the next.

    For example, I'm at a county park pavilion, includes the built in picnic tables and kitchen, electricity, bathrooms, running water, amplified music permit for $300ish bucks!  


  • edited December 2011
    I think community centers will be less restrictive than parks but they will still have alcohol restrictions. For example where my brother had his reception they had a bar service brought in but in order to serve they had to have a police officer present. When I looked at having our reception at the community center where we live it was the same thing, you had to pay for a bar tender, then there was a fee for the cop, then you had to buy all the alcohol from the local liquor store. But tables and chairs were included and I think they allowed any caterers.

    Also a great BBQ caterer we looked at was Divine Swine. Good prices and they were preferred vendors at most of the park/community center venues.
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  • SSaltzman87SSaltzman87 member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    edited December 2011
    My venue, Dahlgreen Golf Club out in Chaska only requires a $250 rental fee. One of their theme buffets is a BBQ one. HTH! 
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  • edited December 2011
    Thanks ladies for all the help.  No one was being a Debbie Downer at all.  I have never been huge into weddings and now that I am planning my own I have no idea what to expect.  I know that with my small budget I may have to make some consessions, I just dont know where to spend and where to scrimp.  On a positive side note, I bought my dress this past weekend at a sample sale for $49!!! That frees up a little cash for me to play with in other areas.

    Thanks again ladies!
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